Begin a new life in Fallout 4 with an Alternate Start mod

Plus colonize the Moon and Mars in Stellaris, and more.

On this week's Mod Roundup, say goodbye to Vault 111 thanks to an Alternate Start mod for Fallout 4, which lets you begin a new game in several different ways. Our solar system in Stellaris has also been expanded, adding a number of celestial bodies and letting you colonize the Moon and Mars. And finally, you can dress your XCOM 2 squad as alien-hunting predators.

Here are the most promising mods we've seen this week.

Alternate Start, for Fallout 4

If you want to start a new game of Fallout 4, but you're done with the standard intro—pre-war Sanctuary, talk to the Vault-Tec salesman, here come the bombs, deep-freeze and awaken, boo-hoo my spouse—this Alternate Start mod is just the ticket. Skip the familiar opening and begin your game as someone else. The mod provides alternate starts such as roleplaying a new arrival in Goodneighbor, a member of the Church of Atom, a raider, a merc for hire, and even a passenger on a sinking ship. It's your life: live it how you want.

Sol+, for Stellaris

It's hard to imagine humankind spreading through the galaxy without first colonizing Mars, right? This Stellaris mod makes it possible. It also allows you to colonize Earth's moon, and expands the solar system by adding the largest moons of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It even adds our lovely dwarf planet Pluto and its moon, Charon, giving you a much more realistic version of our solar system to play with.

Predator Outfits, for XCOM 2

Since you're going to be hunting aliens, you might as well bring along the galaxy's most notorious alien hunters: the Predators. Dress your squad in the iconic helmets, armor, forearm spikes, and dreadlocks when you take on XCOM 2's aliens and Advent. There's a voicepack as well for full immersion, though let's face it: most of what the Predators say are just those weird clicking sounds.